US border patrol chief resigns after claims of sex with prostitutes abroad

"Mike Banks, the border patrol chief who oversaw the most aggressive militarization of the US southern border in recent history, has resigned with immediate effect. It's just time, Banks told Fox News in an interview. I feel like I got the ship back on course from the least secure, most disastrous, most chaotic border to the most secure border this country has ever seen."

"The resignation comes weeks after the Washington Examiner reported that six current and former border patrol employees had accused Banks of regularly paying for sex with prostitutes during trips to Colombia and Thailand over more than a decade, and bragging about it to colleagues. The behavior was said to have been investigated twice by CBP officials, with one inquiry reportedly ending abruptly while former homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem, was in office. CBP described the matter as closed last month, with a spokesperson telling the Examiner the allegations date back more than a decade and were reviewed years ago."

"Banks took over as border patrol chief in early 2025 and swiftly became central to the Trump administration's controversial drive to reshape US immigration enforcement. He oversaw a dramatic expansion of prosecutions for unlawful border crossings, intensified coordination between border patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and the rollout of broader interior enforcement operations across the country. Among that agenda was Banks's role in launching so-called national defense areas along the southern border."

"Last April, under his watch, the administration designated large stretches of federal land as military zones and transferred jurisdiction to the US army. By mid-2025, the zones covered nearly a third of the entire US-Mexico border, and were patro"

Mike Banks resigned as U.S. Border Patrol chief with immediate effect. Banks said he restored the border to a more secure state after overseeing a period he characterized as least secure, disastrous, and chaotic. CBP did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the resignation. The resignation followed reports that current and former border patrol employees accused Banks of paying for sex with prostitutes during trips to Colombia and Thailand over more than a decade and bragging about it to colleagues. Allegations were reportedly investigated twice, with one inquiry ending abruptly during Kristi Noem’s tenure. CBP said the matter was closed last month and that the allegations dated back more than a decade and were reviewed years earlier. Banks became chief in early 2025 and led expanded prosecutions, closer coordination with ICE, and interior enforcement operations, including national defense areas along the southern border with jurisdiction transferred to the U.S. Army.

Read at www.theguardian.com